A Neural Field Model of Word Repetition Effects in Early Time-Course ERPs in Spoken Word Perception

Andrew Valenti, Tufts Univesity, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Michael Brady, Tufts University, Medford, Masachusetts

Matthias Scheutz, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA

Phillip Holcomb, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA

He Pu, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA

Abstract

Previous attempts at modeling the neuro-cognitive mechanisms
underlying word processing have used connectionist approaches, but none has
modeled spoken word architectures as the input is presented in real-time. Hence,
such models rely on the ingenuity of the modeler to establish a mapping of
real-time stimulus to the model’s input which may not preserve processing
that happens during each time step. We present a neural field model which
successfully replicates the effect of immediate auditory repetition of
monosyllabic words and fits it to a component of a well-studied mechanism for
analyzing language processing, the event-related potential (ERP). This represents
a new modeling approach to studying the neuro-cognitive processes, one that is
based on the bottom-up inter-action of real-time sensory information with
higher-level cate-
gories of cognitive processing.